HUUUUGE Disappointment..., Looked at a '93 All-Trac Options

[94GT]

So two weeks ago, I find what I think is my dream car posted on Craig's List in Denver. I email the guy, and no reply. One week later, it's still posted, so I email him again. No reply. Then finally (over two weeks after I first messaged him) he calls my house about the car yesterday. He goes to school out of state, but his inlaws have the car about 45 min from where I live, so I get their info, and set up a test drive for yesterday afternoon. Here's the ad:

"Get it while it's still for sale. One of 81 sold in America. 84K original miles. Leather interior, sun roof, power everything, 5-speed, turbo-charged, all-trac (all wheel drive all the time), premium sound and much more. This is a great little car, but I have to sell it to pay for my student loans. It is awesome in the mountains with the power to pull it up the hills and the controll to giggle around the turns. It does have a few cosmetic flaws, but nothing to worry too much about. It has been babied for the last 4 years while my wife and I had it."

Naturally, I'm pretty excited. He's asking 9,500 for it, which is about 3 grand over book, so I'm thinking the car must be in near mint condition. My brother and I head over there, and this is what we find: As we approach the car, we notice that some of the badging is broken off or missing. Okay. Then I look inside. Leather seats are very worn (drivers is torn) and interior is looking pretty rough. Missing speaker covers, driver side door panel missing cushion (found it in the back seat), and generally not clean. He told me that some clear coat was missing on the hood (paint missing, not clear coat) and the front spoiler lip was slightly cracked. Body needed some door ding touch up (and really, a whole different color. It was stock turqoise). It fires right up, and the engine looks okay except the coolant reeks (hard to check stuff because it's all crammed together in the 5th gen). The hatchback cover was missing, and then my brother notices that a front lugnut is missing. The car is stock except for the cd player which was difficult to figure out. I look underneath the car, and I see what looks like rust on the undercarriage. Surprisingly cars don't rust in Colorado, so I don't know where it's been that it got that way. The driverside mirror had an encounter with a wall, and was glued back together very shoddily. I'm doing the mental calculations while I'm driving the car (drove reeeeal nice), and I'm coming to the conclusion that in order to fix it up, I'd need to put like 4 grand into it. That would mean I'm willing to pay 2 grand for it, but forget it. It's just not worth the time for me to take on that big of a project. Besides, the switches were all screwed up and cracked on the inside for the heat/ac controls, and who knows how hard it would be to find replacements for that stuff (every single window seal, too)... Needless to say, my car is a 94 with about 3 times as many miles as his, and it's still in perfect shape. I don't know what his definition of "babied" is, but it ain't mine. So, I'll stop ranting now, but if anyone is looking for a project, message me, and I'll send you his number since he never checks his email....

[Hanyo]

was the car in good mechanical condition? tracked straight? oil leaks? weird fumes/smell?

[Digndoug]

was the car in good mechanical condition? tracked straight? oil leaks? weird fumes/smell?
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he did say coolant, and thats def not good. That means it has a leak or the heater core is going, and those are a pain to fix. Its def not worth it, id offer him a low ball price keeping in mind you will need to fix all the stuff. maybe he'll sell.

[CelicaHalo]

maybe the babied factor was the fact that they didnt take care, didnt look after it you know like some parents do. LOL. So the owner was abusive & neglected a butte. I hate people like that.

[x_itchy_b_x]

was it fast

[Doge]

hahaha... one of 81 sold in america? hahahaha

[XxDJFate76xX]

there was one on ebay that went for 6000 that was in really good condition, ill take his engine...

[Kwanza26]

They're not that fast in stock trim... only a mid 15 second car or so... but the 3SGTE is super buildable. IMO... I'd rather search for something worth your money. That guy's asking wayyy to much. I personally would only consider his asking price if the car was in MINT condition... and considering it's not... you have every right to be disappointed.

[97sccelica]

hahaha... one of 81 sold in america?  hahahaha
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1993 model is RARE

very rare

[94GT]

In terms of speed, it was everything that the 6th gen USDM should be. It's such a shame... It seemed to run well enough. I think the coolant smelled because it had never been changed. But someone that lets the inside of the car get trashed probably isn't so regular with the oil changes, tune ups, etc. He did mention that it had a new AWD tranny, but I don't know how he killed the old one with only 84k miles on it. Probably an axle seal sprung a leak and he never noticed until it ran dry...

[saleeka]

hahaha... one of 81 sold in america?  hahahaha
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1993 model is RARE

very rare
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could be true, but Toyota does NOT list trim level breakdown sales for any of their car models, just overall sales, so I'd LOVE to know where he got this information...

[Benevolence]

I would kill for a mint condition 93 all trac *drool* or even pay 9500... but for what you described the most I would pay is 4500

[wind]

81.... lol

more then that got sold in bc, canada alone.

[946thGenGT]

Isn't the entire reason that North America didn't get the 6th Gen All-Trac because sales of the 1993 All-Trac were so poor? I'm pretty sure that's what I heard. If that was the reason then I would easily believe that only 81 were sold.

I highly doubt that 81 1993 All-Tracs were sold in British Columbia.

[CelicaHalo]

If thats true then i swear to god the people before us are stupid for not buying the All-Trac ......I COULD HAVE A FREAKIN GT-4 SITTIN IN THE DRIVE-WAY BUT NO I CANT BECAUSE OF THE SALES FIGURES *walks away in anger screaming something about if he was in charge of Toyota*

GGGRRRrrrrrrrrr

[saleeka]

Isn't the entire reason that North America didn't get the 6th Gen All-Trac because sales of the 1993 All-Trac were so poor?  I'm pretty sure that's what I heard.  If that was the reason then I would easily believe that only 81 were sold.

I highly doubt that 81 1993 All-Tracs were sold in British Columbia.
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From my knowledge it was Emissions, not sales... remember that the end of the line MR2 turbo's and Supra turbos coulden't be sold in Cali because of this... It's known that WRX's werent sold here pre 2002 because of that, and it's rumored to be the same with Evolutions...

This post has been edited by saleeka: Feb 24, 2005 - 3:11 AM

[97sccelica]

Isn't the entire reason that North America didn't get the 6th Gen All-Trac because sales of the 1993 All-Trac were so poor?  I'm pretty sure that's what I heard.  If that was the reason then I would easily believe that only 81 were sold.

I highly doubt that 81 1993 All-Tracs were sold in British Columbia.
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From my knowledge it was Emissions, not sales... remember that the end of the line MR2 turbo's and Supra turbos coulden't be sold in Cali because of this... It's known that WRX's werent sold here pre 2002 because of that, and it's rumored to be the same with Evolutions...
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thats exactly why a stock WRX has 3 cats, one being before the turbo and two after

[Sev408]

thats exactly why a stock WRX has 3 cats, one being before the turbo and two after
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is that why they sell up pipes for wrx.

im looking into buying one and im just now researching everything about them.